Lasting-machine.



No: 6 44,I2D. PatentedFeb. 27, |900.

E. WDODWAHD.

LAsTlN MACHINE.

(A. plie 26, 1898 umana -"l No. 644,|2o. Patented Feb- 27, |900. LwoonwAnu LASTING MACHINE.

(Application led Jan. 26, 189B.) (No'Mvdel.) 2 sheefs-sheef 2.

ligt/90636 e6' faveur/for:

NTTED STATES PATENT rrrc,

ERASTUS W OODWARD, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T O THECONSCLIDATED dv MCKAY LASTING MACHINE COMPANY.

LASTING-NIACHlN E.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 644,120, dated February 27, 1900.

Application filed January Z6, 1898. Serial No. 66810701. (No model.)

letters on the drawings representing like parts.'

The present invention relatesto a lastingniachine, and is embodied mainly in a novel arrangement of the wiper-blocks, whereby the wipers willautomatically conform to lasts of different pitch, the invention, however, also relating to novel details of construction and arrangement, which Will be more fully described hereinafter.

In accordance with the invention, the block for the toe-wipers is pivotally supported beyond the point where the wipers are first en-v gaged by the lastas the latter travels toward the same, whereby the said wipers can ride up the inclined surface of the last by the movement of the block on its pivot, so that when the last is finally in operative position the wipers lie parallel to the surface of the last and in closing in are closely in contact therewith, so as to have a uniform operation on the leather along the sides of the last. The said fblock is normally held in position by means of a spring or other yielding support, so that as the last approaches the block the throat of the wipers will first engage the leather at the toe and fold the same over in place, and riding up the last Will position the block, as stated, to provide for the proper operation of the wipers when they are closed in. In substantially the same manner the block for the heel-wipers is adapted to be engaged by the back end of the last, which will tip the'same on its pivot until the surface of the last is engaged by the Wipers, which thus lie substantially parallel thereto.

The machine is shown .as provided with holding devices which are adapted to grip the upper along the sides of the last, the said holding devices comprising flexible strips of suitable material adapted to be engaged substantially at the middle thereof by the toe and heel of the last, respectively, and being so arranged that as the Wiper-blocks are drawn together, bringing the middles of said holders into engagement with the last, the moveoperation by closing in the wipers, which may be accomplished by separate actuating devices.

The machine is further providedwith means whereby the Wiper-actuating devices can be connected at the proper time in the operation with the appliances for drawing the Wiperblocks into position, so that the final positioning4 of the said blocks will also cause the closing in of the wipers. The connection, however, is so arranged as not to interfere with the manual operation of the wipers, so that the said. wipers can be independently manually operated, if desired, after the initial closure thereof, which is accomplished automatically.

Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;` Fig. 2, a top plan View of the same; and Fig.'3 a plan'view of the mechanism which operates the holding devices, t-he wipers and their operating mechanism being removed to show the devices aforesaid, which lie underneath the same.

The operative parts of the machine are herein shown as mounted on a standard A, having at the top a bed-plate A2, upon which is supported the carriage b for the heel-wiper block b2 and the posts a, to which is pivoted the toe-Wiper block a2. The said standard is shown as also affording a support for the jack A3 for the last, the said jack being vertically adjustable in any suitable or usual Way, as

indicated, and so positioned that it will engage the under surface of the wipers supported on the blocks c2 and b2 when one of said blocks is moved toward the other.

In jacking a last the same is placed, as-

IOO

shown in Fig. 1, with the toe portion thereof close to the toe-Wiper block a2, and the carriage I), which carries the heel wipers, is caused to travel toward the heel of the last in the operation of the machine. The jack is shown as pivoted at A30, so that the carriage aforesaid will push the last toward the toewiper block. To produce the movement of theheel-Wiper carriage, the same is shown as provided with a longitudinal rod-b3, provided at its end with a screw-thread b4, cooperating with a female thread in the hub of a hand- Wheel b5, which is provided With a bearing in an upwardly-extending lug A4 from the bedplate A2, so that the turning of the said hand- Wheel will produce a longitudinal movement of said rod b3 and the carriage b. After the last is jacked the hand-wheel b5 is turned, drawing the carriage ZJ toward the heel of the last until the said heel is engaged thereby and the 'toe portion of the last moved forward into engagement with the toe-wipers, the heelwipers c c2 and the toe-Wipers d (Z2 engaging the leather at the ends of the last and turning the same over into position. The Wiperblock a2, as has been stated, has a pivotal support beyond the wipers in the direction of movement of the last, so that as the toe of the last engages with the wipers it will tend to tip the said block more or less, in accordance with the pitch of the last, the said Wipers conforming to the pitch or slope and as they close in fitting snugly along the surface of the last throughout their entire extent. rljhe movement of the carriage b also causes the operation of the holders cto engage and hold the sides of the vamp along the sides of t-he last; There are two of such holders c, one for each end of the shoe, the said holders consisting of flexible straps adapted to be engaged substantially at the middle by the heel and toe ends of the last, respectively, and in the further travel of the carriage b to close in until they engage the upper along the sides of the last, so that when the carriage b has been moved into position preparatory to the final operation of the Wipers the said holders will lie in contact With the leather at the sides of the last and hold the same snugly in position. To produce such operation, the said straps e are connected at their ends by links c2 with arms e3, pivoted at e4 to the blocks a2 and h2, respectively, so that as the said arms are moved on their pivots the ends of the straps c will be pressed toward the middle of the last, thus causing the strap which is engaged at its middle by the end of the last to embrace the said last and snugly conform thereto. To produce such movement of the arms e3, the said arms are shown as provided with teeth e5, adapted to engage with corresponding teeth f upon a longitudinal movable rod f2, Which is adapted to be moved in response to the closing together of the Wiper-blocks, the said rod being herein shown as 1n contact with the straps e, so that as the said straps engage the last a longitudinal movement of the rods f2 with relation to the blocks a and b will be produced, causing the holders e to close in, as above described.

The construction of the holders c and their actuating devices is best shown in Fig. 3, the rods f2 being shown as each provided with a restoring-spring f3, Which tends to hold it in the normal position, with the holders c open, so as to readily receive the last. As herein shown, the spring f3 bears at one end against the shoulder f4, formed on the rod f2, and at the other end against the cap f5, secured, as by cap-screws f6, to the end of the wiperblock b2, the end of the rod project-in g through the said cap f5 and having a threaded end, upon which is secured a nutf?, which constitutes a stop to prevent the rod f2 from moving forward beyond its proper normal position and also affords means for adjusting or varying such normal initial position of said rod. The holders c and their actuating devices are substantially the same for both the toe and heel ends of the last, and while the adjustments are slightly different the same letters of reference have been given to both holders and the parts connected therewith in order to simplify the description.

To hold the block a2 normallysubstantially level, the rear end of said block is shown as yieldingly supported, as by the spring a3, the stress of which is merely suilicient to support the Weight of the body of the block without affording any substantial resistance to the movement thereof in conformity with the pitch of the last as the same moves into contact with the Wipers d d2.

After jacking the last, as has been stated, the operator turns the hand-Wheel if, drawing the carriage o toward the heel of the last and moving the last itself into engagement With the Wipers CZ and d2, this operation being continued until the holders e have been moved by the cooperation of the heel and toe of tho last with the rods f2 into their operative position, so that the upper is snugly held against the sides of the last throughout. The same movement carries the blocks a2 and b2 to the proper position with relation to the last and forces the toe and heel ends thereof under the throat portions of the Wipers, smoothing the leather into place at the toe and heel. The machine is then ready for the final operation, which consists in closing in the Wipers, the heel-Wipers c and c2 being shown as connected by links 010 and 020 with a cross-head c3, having a stud c4, projecting into a cam-slot c5 in a portion of the lever c, pivoted at c7 and having an arm e8 for actuating the same, the said arm o8 being herein only partially shown, since the operation thereof is obvious.

The toe-Wipers d and d2 are similarly connected by links d10 and d20 with a longitudinally-movable rod d3 and are shown as held in position by a plate d4, which overlies the surface of the said Wipers and is connected to a carriage d5, upon which the said wipers are mounted, the said carriage being longitudinally movable in the wiper-block a2, which is provided, as shown in Fig. 2, with suitable guides therefor. The said plate d4 is shown as provided with a curved engaging surface d50, which is adapted to engage the ends of the links d10 and d20, so that the longitudinal movement of the rod d3 will separate the said links and throw the ends of the wipers d and d2 toward each other to wipe in the leather along the edges of the last. The construction and arrangement of the wiper mechanism, however, is not material to the invention and lnay be varied or departed from at will without departing from the invention.

To operate the toe-wi pers, the arm cl3 is shown as adapted to cooperate with a lever d, pivoted at Z7 upon a portion of the wiperblock a2, the said lever being shown as provided with a handle d8, adapted to be operated by the attendant. The said lever is also .shown as connected by a link di with the in'- dependent carriage d5 for the wipers, the connection between the link d andthe said lever being nearer the center thereof than is the connection between the lever and the rod (Z3, so that in the movement of the said lever the said rod d3 will travel a greater distance than that traveled by the link aforesaid. In the movement of the lever, therefore, the wipers as a whole will be moved toward the last through a slight distance, thus completing the operation of lasting the extreme toe portion, and at the same time will be closed in to operate upon the leather along the side edges of the last.

In accordance with the present invention the wiping operation at the toe portion of the shoe is adapted to be automatically accomplished in response to the initial operation of the machine-viz., that of bringing the heelwiper block toward the toe-Wiper block to properly position and hold the last prior to the final wiping operation. To this end, the rod b3 is shown as connected, by means of a connecting-piece g with a lever g2, pivoted at g3 upon a portion of the bed-plate A2 and adapted to engage with the lever d6, being herein shown as projecting upward through an opening d10 in said lever, so that the longitudinal movement of the rod b3 is transmitted to the lever d and 'through the same to the toe-wipers. In order, however, that the said toe-wipers may not be prematurely operated, and also to afford means whereby they may be independently manually operated, the said connecting-piece g is adapted to be connected to and disconnected from the lever d6 at will, the lever g2 being herein shown as provided with a pawl g4, having a handle g5, the said pawl being adapted to coperate with ratchet-teeth Q6, formed on the connecting-piece g, so that when the said pawl is in the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, the movement of the connecting-piece g will be transmitted to the lever d, and when the said pawl is thrown to the full-line position the said piece g will be capable of moving independently. In the operation of the machine, therefore, the pawl g4 will be thrown out of engagement with the teeth Q6 and the handwheel b5 turned until the wiper-blocks are nearly in their proper position for operation and the holders forced into engagement with the sides of the welt, and at this period the pawl is thrown into engagement with the teeth g, so that in the final movement of the hand-wheel the last is carried to its final position and the vtoe-wipers closed in over the toe of the last. To finish the operation, therefore, nothing then remains but to operate the heel-wipers, which can be accomplished as hereinbefore described. After the operation is thus completed, however, if the operator desires to examine the toe portion of the shoe it is obvious that by throwing the pawl g4 out of engagement with the teeth gG he can open the wipers to examine the toe and close the same, repeating the operation if necessary.

As herein shown, the connecting mechanism between the heel-wiper-carriage actuator and the toe-wipers is so arranged that a primary or initial adjustment can be effected, if desired, the connecting-piece g being shown as provided with a series of teeth gl, adapted to engage with a cross-pin bs in a yoke b9, which is connected with the rod b3 and which affords the means for connecting the same through the connecting-piece g with the lever d6.

Itis not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction herein shown and described, since modifications may obviously be made without departing from the invention.

I claiml. In a lasting-machine, the combination with the heel and toe wipers, of a wiper-block for each set of wipers means for yieldingly holding said blockin a predetermined normal position, and a jack for the last so positioned that said last will longitudinally engage the under surface of the wipers and cause the said wiper-block to tip, whereby the said block is free to move in response tothe engagement of the wipers and thelast, substantially as described.

2. In a lasting-machine, the combination with the heel-wiper block and the toe-Wiper block and means for moving one of said blocks toward the other to bring the said blocks respectively adjacent to the toe and heel ends of the last, of a pivotal su pport for each block beyond the point at which the wipers iirst engage the surface of the last, and a jack for the last so positioned that said last will longitudinally engage the under surface of the wipers and cause the said wiper-blocks to tip, substantially as described.

3. In a lasting-machine, the combination with a toe-wiper block; of the toe-wipers thereon and means for closing the same; a pivotal support for said toe-wiper block beyond the point at which the said Wipers are first engaged by the last, the said block be- IOO IIO

ing yieldingly held in a predetermined position upon said pivotal support; a heel-wiper block; means for moving said heel-wiper block toward the toe-wiper block to force the last into engagment with the same; and ajack for the last so positioned that said last will longitudinally engage the under surfaces of the wipers and cause the said wiper-blocks to tip, substantially as described.

4. In a lasting-machine, the combination with the heel and toe wipers; of pivotallysupported wiper-blocks therefor; a jack for the last so positioned that the said last will engage the under surfaces of the Wipers and cause the said wiper-blocks to tip; means for bringing together said jack and wipers whereby the wipers are caused to ride along the inclined surfaces of the last until they are brought to a position to operate on an upper on the last; and an actuating device for the wipers adapted to coperate with the means aforesaid for bringing together the jack and wipers, as set forth.

5. In a lasting-machine, the combination with a jack for the last, of the Wipers, mechanism whereby said jack and wipers are brought together so that the latter are in position to operate on the upper on a jacked last, an actuating device for closing in the wipers, and means for connecting said actuating device with the mechanism aforesaid, or disconnectingit therefrom, at any point in the operation of said actuating device Whereby said wipers may be automatically or manually operated, substantially as described.

6. In a lasting-machine, the combination with the toe-wiper block, of the toe-Wipers thereon and means for operating the same, a pivotal support for said toe-wiper block beyond the point at which the said wipers are iirst engaged by the last, a jack for the last so position ed that said last will longitudinally engage the under surface of the wipers and cause the said wiper-block to tip, a heel-wiper block, means for moving said heel-wiper block toward the toe-wiper block to force the last into engagement with the latter, and means for closing in the toe-wipers in response tothe movement of the heel-wiper block aforesaid, substantially as described.

7. In a lastingmacl1ine, the combination with the pivotally-supported toe-wi per block; of the toe-wipers thereof and means for operating the same; the pivotally-supported heel-wiper block; the jack for the last so positioned that the said last will engage the under surfaces of the wipers and cause the said wiper-blocks to tip; means for moving said heel-wiper block toward thetoe-wiper block to force the last into engagement with the said toe-wiper block; and an adjustable connecting device whereby the movement of the heel-wiper block may be transmitted to the toe-wipers, as set forth.

8. The combination with the toe-wipers; of the toe-wiper block; a carriage for said toewipers supported upon said block; and an actuating-lever for said carriage and wipers f ulcrumed on said block, the point of connection between the said leverand said carriage being nearer the fnlcrum of the lever than the point of connection between the lever and the wipers, substantially as and for the pur pose described.

9. The combination with the toe-wipers; of an actuating-lever therefor; the heel-wipers; the movable heel-wiper carriage; means for moving said carriage toward the toe-wipers; a rod adj ustably connected with said carriage; and a device for connecting said rod with the toewiperactuating lever at any point in the movement of said rod.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERASTUS WOODVARD.

lVitnesses:

1I. J. LIvERMonn, JAS. J. MALONEY. 

